WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) will take to the Senate floor at 1:15 p.m. today to ask the Senate for “unanimous consent” to immediately take up and pass his legislation to force FEMA to continue providing temporary housing assistance to hundreds of displaced families who are still unable to return to their homes in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The move comes just two days before FEMA says it will stop providing temporary housing assistance to approximately 1,700 displaced families across the country – including hundreds in Florida on June 30.

FEMA’s decision to end its Transitional Shelter Assistance, or TSA, program at the end of this month has many displaced families scrambling to find affordable places to live starting Sunday and some lawmakers, including Nelson, continue to push the agency to extend the housing program to help those still in need.   

Nelson, who filed legislation last month to force FEMA to continue providing temporary housing assistance to these displaced families through February 2019, will take to the Senate floor today to ask the Senate for “unanimous consent” to immediately take up and pass his legislation.   

Under Senate rules, a senator can ask for “unanimous consent” that a bill be immediately approved by the Senate without a vote. If no senator objects to the request, the bill is passed. However, if just one senator voices an objection to the measure, it is defeated.

If approved, Nelson’s legislation – known as the Disaster Housing Assistance Act (S.2880) – would require FEMA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to immediately activate a joint interagency housing program, known as the Disaster Housing Assistance Program, or DHAP, to continue providing housing assistance to the victims of Hurricanes Irma and Maria through February 2019.

The DHAP program was first activated in 2007 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to help relocate storm victims out of defective FEMA trailers and in to more traditional housing. It was used again in 2008 to provide housing assistance to victims of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav.

The program can provide eligible families with housing assistance for up to 18 months after a disaster is declared, which means it could provide victims of Hurricanes Irma and Maria with housing assistance through February 2019. Once activated, DHAP provides monthly rent subsidies to eligible families displaced by storms to help them pay for temporary housing in the wake of a disaster.

A copy of Nelson’s bill is available here

A copy of the letter Nelson sent to Senate leaders earlier this month asking them to take up and pass the bill before Saturday’s deadline is available here.